District outlines Year‑1 progress on five‑year strategic plan, launches three literacy curricula and pilots family‑welcome work
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Summary
Superintendent and staff briefed the committee on Year‑1 progress of the district strategic plan: three new literacy curricula rolled out (K–4, 5–8, 9–10), multilingual learner placement changes at Lowell High, a chronic‑absenteeism pilot in design, and an RFP scoping study for facilities capped at $450,000.
On Nov. 19 the superintendent and district staff updated the committee on the first‑year actions of the five‑year strategic plan. Miss Crocker summarized Year‑1 priorities including a major literacy curriculum rollout (three separate curricula for K–4, 5–8 and 9–10), professional learning for educators and a pilot year for approaches to chronic absenteeism.
Miss Crocker said the district has had "over 900 educators" engage in professional learning tied to the literacy rollout and credited partners such as American Reading Company and TNTP for implementation support. She described the multilingual learner placement changes at Lowell High School, where multilingual learners are now integrated in core classes and are only pulled out for designated ESL courses.
Members also asked about a facilities Request for Proposals described in the packet with a cap of $450,000 to collect proposals and estimate the cost of a comprehensive facilities plan. Staff clarified the RFP is to solicit proposals and cost estimates for committee consideration, not an approved contract.
On data, Miss Crocker explained why graduation‑rate baselines use prior DESE‑certified years (DESE release timing means official graduation rates lag by a year) and confirmed the district has internal estimates for 2024–25 but uses certified DESE numbers for formal targets.
Committee members requested additional and recurring reports on specific topics — for example, an annual update on teacher certification/licensure and continued monitoring of absenteeism pilot progress — and staff agreed to provide follow‑up at intervals determined by the committee.